PICKERINGTON - If Pickerington Central continues to put all phases of the game together like it did last night in a 55-14 win over Dublin Coffman, the rest of Division I, Region 3 had better run for cover.

Steve Blackledge, The Columbus Dispatch

PICKERINGTON — If Pickerington Central continues to put all phases of the game together like it did last night in a 55-14 win over Dublin Coffman, the rest of Division I, Region 3 had better run for cover.

The Tigers set the tone early with inspired special-teams play and overran the Shamrocks, who were short-handed to begin with as standout receiver Marcus Davis served the second game of a suspension for breaking team rules.

Billy Eakins, Roger Lewis and Devone Penick scored two touchdowns each for Pickerington Central (8-2), which will face Gahanna (9-2) in a regional semifinal on Saturday at a site to be determined.

“We didn’t come in thinking we’d blow them out like this,” Penick said. “Our main focus in practice all week was to cut down on the turnovers and penalties. We came out hungry, and the momentum just kept growing and growing.”

While conceding that Coffman (8-3), which lost three of its final four games, wasn’t on top of its game, Pickerington Central coach Jay Sharrett said his players turned in a grade-A performance.

“We’ve shown signs the past couple or three weeks of being able to play like this in all phases, and our enthusiasm from the practice field certainly transferred to the game tonight,” he said. “ Our guys love to play football, and they’re really excited for the playoffs.”

Pickerington Central scored on its first five possessions for a 35-0 halftime lead.

The Tigers did it swiftly and decisively, running the ball effectively, hitting on big pass plays and overpowering the Shamrocks at the line of scrimmage.

“They dominated up front,” Coffman coach Mark Crabtree said. “Their offensive line is big, strong and aggressive. A lot of times, their running backs weren’t even touched until five yards downfield. They just took it and drove it down our throats.”

Lewis, an Ohio State recruit, snared an 81-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Nick Jensen-Clagg and added a 97-yard kickoff return for a score.

Penick had TD runs of 39 and 41 yards.

Eakins ran for touchdowns of 1 and 41 yards. On the second score, Ohio State-bound offensive lineman Jacoby Boren prevented Eakins from slipping to the slick field, hoisted him up and sent him on his way.

After Pickerington Central expanded its lead to 49-0, Sharrett cleared his bench midway through the third quarter.

“We’ve seen a lot of film on them, and I’d never seen them play like this before,” Crabtree said of Pickerington Central.

The rest of the region had better hope it was a one-time occurrence.

“We can enjoy this for about 45 minutes, then we can start worrying about the next one,” Sharrett said.

sblackledge@dispatch.com

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